Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SIN. Lord, with what care hast thou begirt us round! Parents first season us: then schoolmasters Deliver us to laws; they send us bound To rules of reason, holy messengers, Pulpits and Sundays, sorrow dogging sin, Afflictions sorted, anguish of all sizes. Fine nets and stratagems to catch us in, Bibles laid open, millions of surprises, Blessings beforehand, ties of gratefulness, The sound of glory ringing in our ears; Without, our shame; within, our consciences; Angels and grace, eternal hopes and fears. Yet all these fences and their whole array One cunning bosom-sin blows quite away. AFFLICTION. When first thou didst entice to thee my heart, I thought the service brave So many joys I writ down for my part, Besides what I might have Out of my stock of natural delights, Augmented with thy gracious benefits. I looked on thy furniture so fine, And made it fine to me; Thy glorious household-stuff did me entwine, And ‘tice me unto thee. Such stars I counted mine: both heaven and earth Paid me my wages in a world of mirth. What pleasures could I want, whose King I served, Where joys my fellows were ? Thus argued into hopes, my thoughts reserved No place for grief or fear; Therefore my sudden soul caught at the place, And made her youth and fierceness seek thy face: At first thou gavest me milk and sweetnesses; 1 had my wish and way: My days were strew’d with flowers and happiness: There was no month but May. But with my years sorrow did twist and grow, And made a party unawares for woe. My flesh began unto my soul in pain, Sicknesses cleave my bones, Consuming agues dwell in every vein, And tune my breath to groans: Sorrow was all my soul; I scarce believed, Till grief did te…
